February GBBD plus one

Dateline...mid-February 2010...
snow has to be trucked into British Columbia for
...the warmest winter Olympics yet...

Meanwhile in my yard...

(Various common Hellebores in full bloom.
Purchased at Heronswood, Bainbridge Island, WA.)

To learn more about Hellebores, please click here.



Experimenting in black and white above,
and the same shot in color below.
Which do you prefer?





'Corsican' hellebore, Helleborus argutifolius...
or alien? You decide!


'Shotweed'
Please see my previous post and comments for more info.


My glorious Hamamelis x intermedia 'Diane'


'Porky' and various plants

Lonicera (honeysuckle, mmm-mmm, smells good)

A native plant, Indian Plum
(Oemleria cerasiformis, aka osoberry)
with plenty of blossoms.

Stranvaesia davidiana, now known as
Photinia davidiana


Answer: The native orchard mason bees love it.
Question: What is Pieris japonica?


Larix kaempferi 'Diane', a Great Plant Pick
and definitely a favorite of mine.


Cute crocuses.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day
Carol at May Dream Gardens
kindly hosts GBBD, a day when
you can travel around the world and
see what is blooming in parts near and far.

Skywatch Friday - as the skies change

...so do the seasons...

Just Photos...

Visit more blogs for Skywatch Friday by clicking here.

~Aerie-el

Through the Fog...and into the New Year

My sincere thanks to all of you who have left good wishes,
caring thoughts, and prayers. I continue to think of you,
wish I could spend more time with you and your blogs,
and sooo appreciate the incredible kindness
among gardeners, bloggers, and garden bloggers.

Until now, I couldn't bring myself to write about
what has been happening.
I still feel like I'm walking through fog,
unable to fathom what lies ahead
but treasuring the memories behind...


My unplanned break began in November, which oddly enough
is "pancreatic cancer awareness month".
We were hit with "awareness" beyond what any of us wanted.
Surgeons found my mother has pancreatic cancer,
for which she is now charting her course of action.

I was back 'home' with Mom and family on Cape Cod for Nov-Dec,
during which time I snapped some photos of popular locations.
Those places bring back fond memories,
and it lifts my spirits to share them with you here.
Perhaps you've even been to some of them!
(Click on a photo to enlarge it.)
(No, I was not paid to include information about the places below.)

Cape Cod Beaches

Birds of a feather seek warmth during a cold winter's day.


Traffic on route 28...
imagine what it's like during warm weather!

Perhaps they are headed to...

Molly's
or...

Pirate's Cove putt-putt golf next door
or...

This Cuffy's store, no more...
a sad reflection of the economy.


Ahh, coffee...
or perhaps some ice cream at...

Friendly's, just off Route 6...
or head to browse at...


Christmas Tree shop (gotta love a bargain!).
If you're bored with that, perhaps a stop at...


Captain Parkers and the Zooquarium (on right).
All done?
Then head to the airport via...


Results of the Big Dig ;)

Looking back on my visit,
with a view of the...

Serene sky and sturdy oak tree.
It brings back to mind a song from '85,
Oak Tree
(by Morris Day and the Time)
Beware of clicking on this link, you may break out in dance
and/or end up with an earworm...

Wishing you best wishes for a very
Happy and Healthy New Year!

~Aerie-el

Sunshine

The sunshine belies the sadness that is in my soul.
As the rays stream down, so do the tears.

I'm sorry, I'll be taking a break for a while...

SAGBUTT Sunday Sojourn

Seattle Area Garden Bloggers United To Talk (SAGBUTT)
met on Sunday at the Lake Wilderness Arboretum.
You can see in the picture below
that we were an attentive group as we began
our docent-led tour in the 'Alpine Garden.'
What were we fascinated by?

It was a fasciation fascination!
We learned that volunteers at
LWA intentionally propagate plants with this characteristic.

'For the kid in you', click on the picture below and
see if you can spot something on the tree trunk?
(It's mostly black and houses some cool mammals.)

Another one for the 'kids'...
What are these large hills?

They're ANT PALACES of course!
They are home to what are called mound, thatcher, or wood ants.
These ants are predatory and devour destructive insects
that could harm the azaleas
in the Smith-Mossman Western Azalea Garden.
There is a cute article about these type of ants
geared towards children here.

Everywhere we walked, fall was evident.

The fountain softly bubbled,
a calming and quiet spot for reflection.

As we reflected back on our tour,
we shared some snacks and garden bounty.
We spoke of gardening, future gatherings,
and even some garden blogging!

The garden bloggers above are (left to right):
Aerie-el (baseball cap worn for ID with blog profile picture),
Curmudgeon of the Weed Wackin' Wenches blog,
Paula of Petunia's Garden,
Wingnut also of the Weed Wackin' Wenches,
Molly of Life on Tiger Mountain, and
Daniel of Daniel Mount Gardens.

We missed Karen at Greenwalks

and all of you who couldn't attend this month.
Be sure to check Greenwalks,
or any of the other SAGBUTT blogs
for information on future meetings
(held the 3rd weekend of each month).
We hope that if you're in the area,
you can join us at one of them!